His parents listened to classical music and light opera Stanley was greatly moved by Beethoven's works. Stanley was raised Jewish, although he did not consider his family very observant and did not celebrate his bar mitzvah. Their mother came from a family that fled Nazi Germany to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and then to New York City. He was the second of two children his sister Julia was born two years earlier.

and Broadway the Inwood neighborhood near Inwood Hill Park. Stanley Bert Eisen was born January 20, 1952, in upper Manhattan, New York City, near 211th St. A readers' poll in 2010 named him 13th on their list of Top 25 Frontmen. In 2006, Hit Parader ranked him 18th on their list of the Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Stanley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of Kiss. Stanley established The Starchild character for his Kiss persona.

He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular songs. Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (KISS).